Improved



@them to the hoot.

v while in course of construction.

thnlrnl)Y STATES PATENT' OFFICE.A

,DANIEL E. HAYwARaoF-MELRosE, MASSACHUSETTS..

IMPROVED-1HEEL snFrEnER OR COUNTER FOR BOOTS 'AND SHOES..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,409, dated October 27, 1863.

To all -wwm/ it may concern:

' Beit known that I, DANIEL EDWIN HAY- WARD, of Melrose, in the lcounty' of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Heel Stiffener orl Counter for Bootsv and Shoes, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact'description, reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, making 'partlofthis specification, in which- Figure 1 is la view of my. improved heet stiffener; Fig. 2, a viewv of the piece of sheet rubber of which itis made.

. Heel stiffen'crs or'clounters have heretofore been made of leather; but lthis material is costly andthe labor required to cnt them ont and sk ive them isconsiderable. The chief objectionfhowevetgto which they are liable arises from the time and labor required to apply After being cut out. and s'kived they are temporarily secured to the last vand lining and then bent-round and crimped over upon the insolel and secured there.V This must be done while theetifener i-s wet and pliable. The leatherlsytiener is alsoliable to the objection that it will lose its resiliency if 'bent out `of shape when wetand will not vre turn to its original form,'and thus tbe'boot.

wears over fo one side.

The cheaper substitutes fer leather which have been employed fory stiifene1's -snch as pasteb'oard and factitions leather-are value- 1am also aware that heel -stiffeners have been made' of sheet-rubber,which hasl'leen' cut,

Ifolded, crimped, and/cemented over the shoe pensive,- and. I lay no claim' to any suchvstif cuers.

In the manufacture ofvmy improved stiftr ener I employ any suitable compound effindia-rubber, which, when vulcanized,will have the required stiffness combined with the neces! sary resiliency. This lcompound, after being ground upon. the ordinary heated rolls, is

spread in'fa sheet of from one-eighth to onetenth inch in thickness upon cottonor. other cloth,.the thickness of the sheet and of the cloth varying with the size of the required This is .exg'

stiffenerf Pieces, ig. V2, are then cnt from the` sheet of cloth and rubloer, ofthe requiredsize,

whieh'areplaced in aniold and vulcanized, theloth being thrown upon the inside of the stifiener and the mold being of` a form. that r shall givevit'therequired shape, Fig. 1,'the

vpart f, which goes `beneath the heel, b'ein'g of theexact form ultimately .1'equired, so that when applied'to the boot or shoe it is simply necessary. to -put itin place, no'wettiug, crimp ing, bending, fer temporary nail-ing being re quired. Vhen the upper leather'and sole are applied, the stitches', nails,- or pegs that holdthem together'also pass throughthe partf of `the stiffener in the ordinary manner. This vstiifener also is permanently resilient, even when wet, land does not lose its form or'shape,l

however long or severe the wear tovwhichit is exposedf v This stiffeuer maybe placednoutsi'de the leather, if preferred.

y The proportions which I prefer for the eonipound to he employed in the vmanu fact ure of -my improved. counters are asl follows: `eight pounds'crnde rubber, two pounds lit-barge, one pound white lead, one pound lamp-black, four pounds calcined plaster, and si; ounces flowers ofsulphnr. This compound, after being thoroughly ground upon thevordinary heated rolls `and place'd in the molds, is vulcanized by exposure, for ten hours or thereabout, to a temperature of 275 Fahrenheit. I do not, how- `ever,wish to -confine myself toanyparticular compound or to any particular length of time or degree ot'heat for vulcanizing the same.

What I claim as myinventioiuaiul desire to secnreby Letters Patent as a new article of manufacture, is

f A heel stiffener or counter, of india-rubber audits compounds, which is shaped and vul eanized in the mold inv'whicb it is formed and made, and ope-rating as set forth, for the purpose described.

D. HAI/*wann l Witnesses:

SAM. COOPER, P. E. TEsoHEMAcHER. 

